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Two friends from elementary school, Samuel Peter Nickolas, owner of the Giant Food Truck, and Joe Tucker, owner of Tucker's Restaurant in Over the Rhine, grew up in Cincinnati about a block and a half away from each other.

Although they chose similar paths in the food industry, they never expected to meet up today after a fire overnight inside Tucker's on Vine St.

“I’m just counting in my head, I won’t know until we get everything more assessed,” said Tucker, while surveying the damage to his place. “The kitchen's completely gone.”

“Somebody needs help, you gotta be there for them,” Nickolas said. “He's my friend, we've got extra equipment at the house, so we can bring it down here and get him up and running as soon as possible.”

For almost 70 years, Tucker's has prided itself, not only their goetta and breakfast, but also their friendship within the community.

“Our main thing is, you know, give people quality food,” Tucker said. “We make everything from scratch and we help people who need help. If they need something to eat or something like that, we will help them. We always have.”

Through this experience, Joe Tucker says it's amazing to see how many lives his restaurant has touched. But when it comes to re-opening...

“I have no idea. I don't know what I’ll be doing in the next hour right now,” he said, shaking his head. “People keep coming in and wanting to help, which is great, and I'm starting to get overwhelmed a little bit.”

Tucker is awaiting approval from inspections before he can continue to serve food in house, or out of a truck.

By filling empty stomachs and lending an open ear, Tucker's has served generations of customers in Over the Rhine.

But it's their genuine friendship with the people of Cincinnati that will keep their business running for years to come.